Gov Unit 2 Heimler Review

Senator Requirements

30 years old, 9 years citizenship, and resident of state. Term is 6 years, with 1/3rd senators reelected every 2 years, and is farther from the people

House of Representatives Requirement

25 years old, citizen for 7 years, and resident of state, term is only 2 years, and is closer to the people

How Laws are Made

Both house has to agree to identical bills with the president passing upon the agreed bill

Difference in Permitted Debate

Senate has unlimited debate due to being smaller while House of Representatives maximizes to an hour per member (more structured and complex)

Article 1 Section 8

Enumerated Powers of Congress, giving Congress powers (1. Pass federal budget/Power of the purse, 2. Power to raise revenue via taxes, 3. Power to coin money for uniform currency, 4. Power to declare war, 5. Power to raise and maintain the armed forces))

Necessary and Proper Clause

Present at end of enumerated powers in article 1, section 8, giving Congress power to pass any law that is necessary and proper for enumerated powers to be carried out

Speaker of the House 

Party of the majority party, voted on by House of Representatives, follows parliamentary procedures, has power to recognize who is speaking in debates, and can assign members to committee assignments 

(Rep)Majority and Minority Leaders

Guide own party members in policy making issues, direct debate, intends to achieve favorable political outcomes

Majority and Minority Whips

Renders party discipline, makes sure party members are in line with party goals, and are ensuring that they are participating

Leadership of House of Representatives

Speaker of the House, Majority and Minority Leaders, and Majority and Minority Whips

President of the Senate

Vice President of the US, non voting member within Senate, and only votes for tie breaker

President Pro Tempore 

Leads Senate when VP isn’t present & member of majority party 

Majority and Minority Leaders

Sets legislative agenda & controls calendar assignment of bills

Leadership of Senate

President of the Senate, President Pro Tempore, Majority and Minority Leaders, and Majority and Minority Whips

Standing Committee

Remains between congressional sessions, dealing with issues that are always present (ex: appropriations committee for where money is spent for Senate and Ways and Means Committee for taxation bills for the House)

Joint Committee

Involves members both from the House and the Senate

Select Committee

Temporary committee formed for a specific purpose 

Conference Committee

Formed if both houses can’t agree on a identical version of a bill to fix these differences

Unanimous Consent

Complete agreement of all Senate members to restrict certain privileges to increase efficiency (ex: no filibuster)

Process of Bill becoming Law

bill sponsored by member from house or Senate > bill modified (non-germane riders - provisions for the bill to benefit a district, pork barrel - money applied to a specific project) > Bill assigned to committee (debated and changed) > Out of committee and onto floor for vote > President signs if both houses pass it 

Mandatory Spending

Spending by law (medicaid and medicare) that has to be a part of the federal budget

Discretionary Spending

Funds debated on by Committees for allocation of funds to certain districts and workers

Deficit Spending

When government spends more money than it is currently holding, leading to borrowing and debt to fulfill discretionary and mandatory spending

Gridlock

Situation where legislative process is stalled due to lawmakers’ inability to agreements on policy decisions, often occurring in a divided government, and a standstill that prevents passage of new laws or reforms. 

Partisan Gerrymandering

Process where districts are drawn to favor one party over another

Racial Gerrymandering

Manipulation of electoral district boundaries to favor or disadvantage a particular racial or ethnic group, affecting representation and voting power

Factors that affect Congressional behavior

Ideological alignment, Representatives being politico, trustee, or delegate (senate or house of reps), and process of redistricting/gerrymandering

Constitution, Article II (Formal)

Powers explicitly given to executive branch (1.power of veto (2/3 for override) & 10 days to sign but can be vetoed due to not aligning with policy agenda or threatened to veto to suggest modifications, 2. Commander in Chief, controlling army forces to implement policy agendas, 3. Appointing government members).  

Consitution, Article II (Informal)

Executive Branch’s informal powers: 1. Bargaining and Persuasion (discuss with public to pressure representatives to pass legislation in line with policy agenda, persuade Congress via approval ratings to get more legislature passed, 2. Executive Order: President’s directive that has force of federal law but is not an actual law, allowing president to direct bureaucracy or move money around for policy agenda, 3. Signing Statement where president can interpret law and how they intend to use it when passing it, 4. Executive Agreement: Agreement between president and head of state informally based on authority and is non binding for future presidents

Advice and Consent

Presidential appointments and treaties needing to be first approved by the Senate and their constitutional process 

Presidential Appointment Powers and Congress response

President can appoint: 1. Ambassadors/Diplomats to other nations (usually immediate confirmation), White House Staff (no approval needed), members of presidential cabinet (usually immediate confirmation), federal courts/supreme court (more contentious) 

Roosevelt vs Taft Perspective on Executive Power

Roosevelt: Do anything unless explicitly stated not to in Constitution, Taft: Do nothing unless explicitly granted in Constitution

Habeas Corpus

Legal principle that an individual’s right cannot be subverted via unlawful detention, requiring that a just case be necessary for an arrest or being brought to a judge or court

FDR’s increase of Executive Power

Used powers to pass many New Deals Legislation for economic suffering, created new agencies, used veto 635 times, elected 4 times, and attempted to remove and expand Supreme Court Justices 

Shift in Presidential Communications

Published in newspapers but were filtered by journalists (Washington), Radio via Fireside Chats (FDR), Television (Kennedy & Nixon), social media without having 3rd party mediators (Obama) 

Federal Court System Structure

SCOTUS, Court of Appeals/Circuit, District Courts

SCOTUS

Only court established Constitution (Article III), judges appointed by President, Confirmed by senate, and hold lifetime appointments as long as they are fair and just, has both original and appellate jurisdiction, original jurisdiction only between two states, ambassador, or public official

Original Jurisdiction

Court can hear case for first time

Appellate Jurisdiction

Court can only hear and review appeals from lower courts

Article III Section I 

Judicial power of US vested in one Supreme Court but inferior Courts may be established as  Congress finds it necessary 

Judiciary Act of 1789

Established strucutre and jurisdiction of the lower federal courts

Courts of Appeals/Districts

12 courts based on region, has appellate jurisdiction, make sure law is applied correctly in cases, 3 judges, and no juror

District Courts

94 courts scattered through nation, have original jurisdiction only, has judge and jury, and each state has at least one court of this kind.

Judicial Review

Court has power to rule on constitutionality of laws & court has ability to establish national policy via judicial review

Factors Determing Precedence’s Standing or being Overturned

Loose constructionism: Considering Constitution an evolving document, Strict constructionism: Interpreting Constitution as they are literally written, ideological makeup of court (Liberal or conservative)

Burger Court

Liberal court that repealed state laws prohibiting first trimester abortion in Roe v. Wade and restricted US. V Nixon’s presidential executive privilege for Watergate Scandal and self implications via restricting evidence

Rehnquist Court 

Conservative court that restricted abortion rights for Planned Parenthood v. Casey, District of Columbia v. Heller with expanded gun ownership access,

Why People question Validity of Court

Court via judicial review and ideological makeup can have decisions that afflict public even though they cannot make or enforce laws.

Judicial Restraint vs Judicial Activism

Belief that one should decide on policies more aligned with how it affects society vs if it is acceptable within range of Constitutional values

Dred Scott v. Sanford

Enslaved man taken to Illinois and Wisconsin territories, free territories, believing he is free but Court suggests he was not a citizen and didn’t have a right to sue, Compromise of 1820 struck down due to enslaved being property, and depriving it would be unconstitutional. Result was questions regarding court legitimacy due to increasing power of slave states 

Korematsu v. US

Internment Camps by FDR for Japanese American citizens, believing they were espionage for Japan. Supreme Court validated this via believing war time necessitated greater caution of ethnic groups despite there be 5th amendment rights for unlawful arrests without due process 

How Other Branches check Supreme Court

(1. Congress - Pass laws that modify impact of prior SC decisions, 2. Constitutional Amendments, 3. Passing Legislation that impacts Court’s jurisdiction, 4. President - Judicial Appointments (president appoint favorable justices), 5. Not enforicng decision handed down

Judicial Review on other Branches

Strikes down laws by legislative branch or rules on constitutionality of executive actions

Structure of Bureaucracy

Cabinet Departments (15) (Dept of Defense, Dept of Education), Agencies (subdepartments) that accomplish goals of departments, Independent Regulatory Commissions (outside President authority but still under Executive branch) to regulate aspects of society, and government corporation (govt. agency and private business hybrid) to offer public services

Bureaucratic Organizations/Agencies

Write and enforce regulations, issues fines for non-compliance, and interact with Congress

Issue Network vs Iron Triangle

Combination of bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees that work together for certain policies versus a conglomerate of individuals who come together only for 1 specific issues

Civil Service Reform

Changed way government jobs were filled, shifting from patronage to merit system

Delegated Discretionary Authority

Process by which decision-making power is assigned to lower level officials/agencies to make choices based on their informed judgement for laws and policies that are outside the knowledge of the executive, legislative, or judicial branches.

Department of Homeland Security

protects Americans from terrorism and maintains and controls borders

Department of Transportation

manag all kinds off transportation like highway and air travel

Department of Veteran affairs

Manages the general welfare of nation’s veterans

Department of Education 

Manages states and their implementation of federal educational standards 

Environmental Protection Agency

Protects the environment and human health through environmental regulations

Federal Elections Commission

Administers and enforces campaign finance laws and political preparedness for campaigns

Securities and Exchange Commission

Regulates stock market and prevents fraud

How Congress Checks Bureaucracy

Committee hearings where agency directors meet with committees to testify updates and clarifications of procedures for carrying out the law, and Power of the Purse via receiving authorization of spending in which money received is in accordance to quality of law’s execution

How President Checks Bureaucracy

Formal powers: Appointment, president can appoint new heads of agencies (cannot fire regulatory commission heads without reason but can fire all other positions), informal powers: executive orders via ordering bureaucracy to follow policy agenda

Compliance Monitoring

Regulatory agency following up with industries to ensure compliance, resulting in slow implementation of policies

How Judicial Branch Checks Bureaucracy

Court exercising judicial review when an individual appeals to the courts to check bureaucracy for violating human rights.